Released a decade ago, The Vampire Diaries was a show about soulmates, the supernatural, and trying to navigate being a teen in a spooky small town. It sprung up during the vampire craze triggered by Twilight and is the longest running vampire show to date with eight seasons under its belt. The interesting storylines and cool characters kept fans coming back for more every week until the show was so popular that it gained two spin-off series. While most discussion surrounding the show is on who Elena Gilbert should have ended up with, cool fan creations and crazy theories, one character that has been sorely overlooked.

Caroline Forbes, the resident queen bee of Mystic Falls and daughter of the Sheriff, is Elena's best friend and rival when we first meet her. A little ditzy, controlling, and shallow, Caroline Forbes went through quite the transformation as the series developed. From being a human blood bag to a vampire to a mother, Caroline has done it all and been through a lot. She survived by being her smart, sassy, and determined self no matter what anyone threw at her. By being herself, Caroline has dated, fought, and lived even while being undead. While we do get to know Caroline fairly well throughout the series, there is more to Caroline than being a neurotic vampire who loves her friends. There is much more going on behind that fabulous blonde hair and fashion sense; what are Caroline Forbes' secrets? Let us know which secrets is your favorite.

25 Caroline Liked Stefan First

Via: screenrant.com

No-one at Mystic Falls High could have realized how crazy things would be from the moment that Stefan Salvatore stepped onto campus. However, one thing Caroline Forbes knew was that she was into him. So into him that her neurotic tendencies came out and she began to dig for information. Inbetween third and fourth period, Caroline knew Stefan's full name, that he was a Gemini, his favorite color, family history, and where he lived. Talk about a girl who knows how to work some connections.

24 A Completely Different Person

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Some Vampire Diaries fans may not realize it, but the show is based on a book series. While both sets of plots and characters have similarities, the TV show stayed away from some of the more outlandish supernatural plot points. Caroline Forbes in the books bears little resemblance to the Caroline that we all know and love. Novel Caroline Forbes is eighteen and the mortal enemy of Elena Gilbert who is dating Tyler Lockwood. Book Caroline also has auburn hair and tanned skin rather than blonde hair and pale skin.

23 Better When I'm Deceased

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Caroline is always a shrewd and witty character, but she is not exactly the deepest or most sympathetic character in the world when we first meet her. As Damon's blood bag in season one, she is vapid, jealous, and a helpless victim. However, after Caroline is turned by Kathrine, Caroline goes through some intense events that turn her around. All of Caroline's good traits really shine; her love, her strength, her wit all become so much better while she's a vampire.

22 Lost Ambition

Via: screenrant,com

As a human, Caroline Forbes was the most involved high school student possible. Caroline was head of everything and was in the know about so many things. As a human, she wanted to do everything and do her best but as a vampire, she was so busy trying to survive that there was no time for planning too far into the future. Caroline still manages to become a TV producer and journalist before becoming a headmistress of her own school, so not too shabby. However, Caroline could have achieved much more.

21 Queen Of Everything

Via: screenrant,com

Not only was she captain of the cheerleading squad, an honor student, head of the dance committee, head of the Mystic Falls Beautification committee, head of the recycling program, head of the 'Go Green' campaign, Miss Mystic Falls, and practically the most popular girl in school. Talk about overachieving, but Caroline cared about her community and improving her resume. Going to college to study Drama just does not seem her style and is a step down in terms of life goals for the hardworking blonde.

20 Intense Cravings

Via: Bustle

Everyone knows that vampires need blood to survive, but sometimes we have seen vamps chow down on foods other than blood drive leftovers. Caroline has been seen chowing down on the local specialties at the bar and has snacked on other regular foods. According to Caroline, she gets those 'end-innocent-people-urges' if she does not eat normal human food. I bet the people of Mystic Falls are glad that there is one less vampire that is out to snack on free-range humans.

19 Brings All The Boys To The Yard

Via: screenrant,com

They say that blondes have more fun and that is true for Caroline's dating life. Out of all The Vampire Diaries cast, she has dated the most guys on the show. First, it was Matt Donovan, then Damon Salvatore, then Tyler Lockwood, Stefan Salvatore, and Alaric Saltzman. Caroline also had a weird thing with Original Vampire Klaus Mikaelson. While Caroline does not allow her partners to control her life, they usually end up breaking her heart which is pretty sad for her.

18 Best Friends Forever

Via: screenrant,com

There is hardly a better friend in the world than Caroline Forbes. Whether she is human or vampire, Caroline fights to protect and save her friends no matter what the odds are. Whether it is to save you from a bad date or one of her evil exes, Caroline knows that friendship is important in the long run. While she does end up losing her friends over the years despite her best efforts, but Caroline always fights tooth and nail to protect them. That is what makes Caroline's story all the more tragic.

17 The Sass Is On Point

Via: screenrant,com

Along with her cool personality and her looks, Caroline is also known for being highly intelligent and having some of the best one-liners. There is a reason that most GIFs of Caroline are her throwing a witty comeback at someone. Classic one-liners include 'I know you said to [end] her with kindness, but can't I just [end] her?' and 'just because I talk a lot doesn't mean I always know what I'm talking about.' These are just yet another reason to love miss Caroline Forbes.

16 Dating IRL (Part 1)

Via: screenrant,com

As well as being friends in the show, Caroline and Jeremy are pretty close in real life, too. Actors Candice King and Steven McQueen actually dated for a while outside of the studio. It was only for a brief time and the two never made it public, but they were snapped together in a club by paparazzi. It is weird that she dated Elena's younger brother, but as long as they were happy then it's fine. It is unclear when the pair broke up but the relationship was short and sweet.

15 Dating IRL (Part 2)

Via: screenrant,com

Along with Steven McQueen, Candice King also dated her onscreen ex Matt Donovan, played by Zach Roerig. King and Roerig dated publicly for around a year before they broke up. There are still very cute pictures of them together online and it seemed like they were happy together. It's a shame it ended for them, but King and Roerig were professional about working together. Even in real life, Candice King is swooning guys and breaking hearts – good for her.

14 Dating IRL (Part 3)

Via: screenrant.com

Candice King continued to date and find happiness with other people. Eventually, she settled down with another celebrity; Joe King. Joe King is the guitarist for The Fray and clearly swept her off her feet in 2012 at the Superbowl. The pair got engaged in 2013 and married in 2014. The Kings had their first child together in 2013 and named her Florence May. Now the Kings are enjoying raising a family and successful careers together, which is awesome.

13 Mystic Falls Musical

Via: screenrant,com

So it turns out that Candice King was not the first to be considered for the role of Caroline. It turns out that Ashley Tisdale, best known for her role as Sharpay Evans in High School Musical and Maddie Fitzpatrick in The Suite Life Of Zack and Cody, was initially approached with the role of Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline but unfortunately she turned them down. Imagine how different the show would have been if Ashley Tisdale was Caroline instead of Candice King.

12 High School Sweethearts

Via: screenrant,com

In the novel, it is Tyler Smallwood who Caroline dates first before anyone else. She teams up with him and tries to take down Elena in bouts of jealousy and rivalry. It turns out that things were pretty serious between the high school sweethearts. So serious in fact that they even had two children together called Lucas and Brianne. Caroline tried to claim that the children belonged to Matt Honeycut instead after he forced himself on her but eventually told the truth.

11 Rivals In Love

Via: screenrant,com

It turns out that Caroline did not just take an interest in Stefan first but she also asked him out first. In the novels, Caroline asked Stefan out before Elena did, beating her to the punch like she usually did. However, Stefan was not interested and rejected her, leaving Caroline jealous and angry. It is weird that Caroline and Stefan never date in the books considering all that they went through in the series but it is nice that Tyler and Caroline's relationship blossomed into something more.

10 Tall And Beautiful

Via: Digital Spy

Caroline Forbes is both tall and beautiful. Her canon height in The Vampire Diaries series is 5'8", which is interesting since her canon height in the novels is 5'10". This difference is key as, in the novels, Caroline is described as looking like a 'Vogue' model or an 'international' model multiple times. Not only that, but Caroline often wears heels and fashionable outfits, making her an even more imposing figure in the supernatural world. The TV version of Caroline doesn't need height to intimidate people.

9 Get That Education

Via: TV Guide

It turns out that Caroline got busy at the end of The Vampire Diaries. While things calmed down, she founded the Salvatore School For The Young And Gifted to house and educate supernatural children. She founded the school with her partner and the father of her children, Alaric Saltzman, and used money given to her by her ex Klaus Mikaelson. This School serves as the main setting for the spin-off series Legacies. Talk about using your connections to make your dreams happen.

8 Staying Friends

Via: screenrant,com

Caroline really does get put through the wringer when it comes to love. She has dated many men, but most of them ended up betraying her or choosing something else over her. Tyler chose to get revenge on Klaus over her, Damon used her as a blood bag, Stefan chose to run away and sacrifice himself on their wedding day, and Klaus chose his family and New Orleans over her. Alaric broke off their engagement to let her be with Stefan which is the first time since Matt that someone chose her feelings over theirs.

7 Hidden Influence

Via: screenrant,com

Despite building and running an entire school for supernatural children with Alaric, Caroline has barely appeared in Legacies. Considering that she built the place and is the headmistress, you would think that she would be all over the show. Instead, Caroline is away on a recruiting mission for the greater good. We did see Alaric get a call from her but that is about it for the moment. There will definitely be more of Caroline in Legacies, considering where the show is headed.

6 From Insecure Human To Powerful Vampire

Via: screenrant,com

They say that bullies do what they do because they are jealous and insecure, and that is somewhat true in Caroline's case. Caroline considers Elena to be her old friend and rival, making their relationship a little bit complex. When Elena causes trouble, Caroline usually tries to get revenge by either trying to expose her diary or by dating her boyfriend's brother. Lucky for us, Caroline and Elena become best friends and protect each other from all the wild supernatural events going on.